In 1990, I had the great pleasure of introducing Russell Brown and a new software package from Adobe to several hundred attendees of my Great Graphics Tips session at Macworld. Photoshop Tips & Tricks has been part of DT&G ever since.

Trey Ratcliff's writings and tutorials in high dynamic range photography has spawned a huge following in this dramatic technique for taking pictures. When you see it, you won't be able to resist the camera to Photoshop results

Design Projects: Easier? Profitable?

The idea is simple. Modifying a well-designed template is far easier and more profitable than starting from scratch. With the professionally designed templates, you tap the talents of designer and author Chuck Green. He has researched, designed, and meticulously formatted over 300 extraordinary layouts in a clean, simple style that it easy to build on. Instead of spending 15 minutes to create a simple layout, you'll spend 15 seconds. For complex projects -- books, newsletters, catalogs, reports -- you'll save HOURS.

High Dynamic Range Imaging is a technique that lets you to portray a much greater range of tonal detail than a given camera could capture in a single photo. Utilizing HDR in Photoshop makes for some spectacular photos. Let's take a look

In a world now congested with super, expert Photoshop photo manipulators, this artist defies the digital world with exquisite paintings in the tradition of the Dutch Masters. No filters, no plug-ins, just talent: Arthur Brahinskiy

For many years, we've advocated using Photoshop Elements as an alternative to Adobe Photoshop for a myriad of reasons -- particularly for those who just want great pictures. Photoshop Elements 8 for Mac is out, and since there's no manual, here's what you need

This Photoshop 911 reader requested information about using Photoshop to compare fingerprints -- while not generally used for law enforcement, this tutorial uses Difference blending mode and Hue / Saturation to compare fingerprints -- or any two images! Enjoy

Photoshop madness is back so soon? Yup! Now with these top selections for holiday wallpaper tutorials. Yet they're a lot more than just for the holidays - essential techniques you can use for lots of projects! December 14, 2009

In this tutorial, Scott Kelby shows you how to create contrast using the Targeted Adjustment Tool (or TAT for short), which lets you click-and-drag right on the image, and the tool will tweak the right part of the curve for you automatically. December 14, 2009

Debi entered a Photoshop 911 Emergency case, with photographs where the deep shadows were too dark. So, in this Photoshop tutorial, we demonstrate the use of a Levels Adjustment Layer that acts like a mask allowing Debi to paint in the areas of the image to be adjusted! November 30, 2009

This edition of Photoshop Madness opens with holidays with * 5 useful photoshop effects then we get into the Holiday Spirit with : Christmas Wallpaper * Holiday Ornaments with reflections * an Abstract Snow Scene Wallpaper with superb snowflakes * The Jungle King Photoshop Tutorial * and building some cool 3-D Text blocks using Photoshop ... all in the line of Photoshop Madness November 27, 2009

Andrea Austoni sent in this tutorial, and we liked its simplicity and the fact that Andrea's site is clean and honest without the usual screen spam of the other tutorial sites. Here, learn Soft Focus, Model Depth of Field, Star Field, Wood Grain and Brushed Metal in easy, 1-2-3 steps. November 18, 2009

10-thousand tutorials on the naked web, dozens and dozens of steps in Photoshop or Photoshop Elements, and you still won't be able to do frames as cool as the ones you create using ImageFramer on the Mac! November 16, 2009

The Beryl Plugin for Adobe Photoshop and Elements automatically removes the red-eye effect from digital photos. With a focus on ease-of-use, choose to have Beryl process images automatically, or manually select the threshold amount of removal required. - October 29, 2009

Photographers are beginning to get into HDR Photography, a relatively new technique that involves capturing more than one photo at different exposures, then using software to combine these exposures into a HIgh Dynamic Range Image. - October 29, 2009

HoudahGeo photo geocoding solution for the Mac allows for geocoding photos hosted in an iPhoto library and notify iPhoto'09 about new geotags. Version 2.2 also brings full support for viewing direction. - October 24, 2009

Photographer Kris Gebhardt, who developed this app, initially used his iPhone when an unexpected camera jam threatened to ruin a photo shoot, but he now regularly takes fashion, glamour, beauty, and figure shots with the mobile device.

May Photoshop Madness... free plug-ins to collages

In this issue we discover The Princess of Shadows and her remarkably free Photoshop Actions * a good pair of wings * and some * Masterful Manipulations! You'll also learn about * Saving for the Web * light your girl on FIRE * Misprinted Type from Assemblage to Collage. We'll also show you how to Get a FREE PHOTOSHOP BOOK ... and it's all in the MAY edition of Photoshop Madness... What's in your Photoshop wallet?

Add Depth of Field

The designer is often faced with customer-supplied photos. Many times there's little you can do to save them. One rule you can always count on is Isolation. Add drama and focus the readers' attention by isolating the subject of an image. While there are many ways to do this, here's my favorite way to add depth of field to perk up those dull photos

Digital Photo Depth of Field - Focus Fall-Off

In this free Photoshop tutorial we demonstrate the ease of gradient masks, layer masks and blurring to save a one-time-only photograph for a web page. We also utilize the cool photo filter to finish this shot with Depth of Field or Focus Fall-Off

Photoshop Extract Filter to improve color, add depth of field

Many readers quite often write to ask about removing an image from a background. In this session we are called upon to clean up a client's digital photo, change colors of the subject, eliminate the "burn-in" of the flash, and lift the subject from the background for a depth of field effect. Depth of Field Using the Extract Filter

Photoshop: Deke McClelland Is Singing in the Droplets

Deke McClelland Is Singing in the Droplets -- The Droplet Song--The Next Hilarious Music Video is now on dekePod - Deke is the author of over 80 books and a popular lecturer on Adobe Photoshop and the larger realm of computer graphics and design ... The Droplet Song

PhotoFreebies plug-ins for Photoshop

The Plugin Site has upgraded to Version 2.0 of PhotoFreebies for Windows. PhotoFreebies 2 is a collection of 12 Photoshop-compatible plugins for performing simple but useful photo adjustments and effects. They can be used with more than 60 different image editing applications e.g. Photoshop, Photoshop Elements, Paint Shop Pro, Photo-Paint, PhotoImpact and many others. PhotoFreebies plug-ins for Photoshop

Color Efex Pro for Lightroom

Color Efex Pro is now compatible with Adobe Photoshop Lightroom -- photographic filters for retouching and creative enhancements. The update is free to current owners of Color Efex Pro 3.0. (Site features some really helpful video training!) Color Efex Pro for Lightroom

Field Trip: Photoshop Gurus of Alien Skin

Follow along as we visit some of the more accomplished graphic photographers in the world. Alien Skin's filters are used by even the top Photoshop gurus, and here we'll take a look at the works of Jim Zuckerman, Scott Stulberg, Jim White and pin-up photographer Robert Alvarado. All are masters in their own rights -- and all have something to share with you from the Alien Skin Case Studies library

Scanning Negatives and Slides

Scanning Negatives and Slides you will learn how to achieve the best possible digital image from a negative or slide, and how to build a workflow to make this process efficient, repeatable, and reliable Scanning Negatives and Slides

Screen captures in layers?

If you work much with screen captures or screen shots, you probably often wish they could already be in the format and layer you want. Layers 1.0 is a unique screen capturing utility for Mac OS X -- screenshots captured in Layers are Adobe PhotoShop compatible Layered Screen Captures

Photoshop Madness... free plug-ins to panoramas

This issue takes you from Stitching a Panorama in Adobe Photoshop CS4 to a wonderful series of Free Photoshop Plug-ins including * Free Plugins from the Ink Pot * Mehdi duz Fur ... and tutorials like * Improving your Waterfall Photos ... and then we take you straight to Photoshop Tutorial Hell Enjoy this edition of Photoshop Madness

Hydra HDR Imaging

Hydra goes beyond the physical limitations of camera sensors. From a series of regular photographs of the same scene, Hydra creates an High Dynamic Range image which is much closer to what one can actually see. Hydra HDR Imaging

Photographic Multishot Techniques

Photographic Multishot Techniques -- the potential of high dynamic range imaging (HDRI). Now, the newest techniques based on a bracketed series of exposures make it possible to go beyond HDRI: photographers can increase resolution for ultra-sharp, detailed images, and they can extend the depth of field Photographic Multishot Techniques

2008 BEST Photoshop Product

For Photoshop users weary of finding, downloading, installing and trying the myriad of plug-ins out there on the streets -- onOne has provided a solution. Now, one plug-in set does the professional job, and does it all: onOne Plug-in Suite 4

Photoshop CS4 Review

George picks up the latest incarnation of Photoshop and shares some of its highs and lows. If you haven't upgraded yet, perhaps you should read this and see if it helps you make up your mind! George reviews Photoshop CS4

Deke is back... and even better

The One-To-One series is the best in the market for learning any of Adobe's Creative Suite. Read the lesson. Watch the video. Do the exercises, and you'll learn Adobe InDesign CS4 from expert and Adobe guru Deke McClelland. Deke McClelland goes One-on-One with InDesign CS4

Photographers using Photoshop

The Photoshop CS4 Companion for Photographers, spotlights only the critical tools you'll need most often in one compact reference -- Derrick Story teaches you how to quickly and efficiently organize and edit your photos without compromising the originals. Photoshop CS4 Companion for Photographers

Artlandia Updates to Photoshop CS4

The new Adobe Creative Suite is out and Artlandia is not to be left behind: all currently shipping Artlandia plug-ins are compatible with Adobe's newest Creative Suite so you can upgrade to the new CS4 right away and get your creative juices flowing. You'll like what you see at Artlandia

Adobe Creative Suite 4: what will it cost?

Okay, here you go! It's that time again, and it's going to cost $$$. Since most of our readers already one or another version of Adobe® Creative Suite® here's what it will cost you to upgrade to CS4. We're also showing Photoshop Elements 6 for Mac, and Adobe Elements 7 for Windows because they may be viable alternatives. You may as well go ahead and buy now. You know you won't have any money after the holidays! Read them and weep Also see: Complete Adobe CS4 Products Overview

Adobe Photoshop CS4: New Features

Time to learn new stuff... like the ll new: Masks panel; Content-Aware Scaling; Adjustments panel; Auto-blending of images; Smoother panning and zooming and fluid canvas rotation; Auto-alignment of layers; Extended depth of field; Lightroom workflow; Better raw image processing; and a lot more! Just a few of the new Adobe Photoshop CS4 features

ImageFramer custom image framing

This little gem can save hours and hours. Yes, we've known how to do this in Adobe Photoshop for years. But what ImageFramer does, are dozens of Photoshop steps instantly. Apply photo-realistic frames to digital images, drawings or any original artwork plus watermarks, batch processing with ImageFramer custom image framing

Live Typography in Illustrator Patterns?

Picture this: you've built a great pattern using letters or typography in Illustrator, and the client calls to update the text! OH NO! You'll have to start over. Not if you get plug-in for simultaneous interactive editing of multiple objects in this fantastic new plug-in Artlandia LivePresets for Adobe Illustrator

101 Photoshop Tips in 5 Minutes

Yes, Deke goes into show biz -- with his wacky Photoshop tips-fest portends more good times ahead -- this instructive series of video podcasts promises to be uncensored, unregulated, and frankly unlike any other videos on the topics of computer graphics -- Can he do it? 101 Photoshop Tips in 5 Minutes

Learning: 7 Point System for Adobe Photoshop CS3

George M Engel takes a look at Scott Kelby's 7-point system for working with digital photos. He says: "I would classify it in the Intermediate to Professional user level... a typical Scott Kelby Photoshop book: Great graphics; Extremely well put together; Comprehensive and well thought out. 7 Point System for Adobe Photoshop CS3

Digital Photo Depth of Field - Focus Fall-Off

In this free Photoshop tutorial we demonstrate the ease of gradient masks, layer masks and blurring to save a one-time-only photograph for a web page. We also utilize the cool photo filter to finish this shot with Depth of Field or Focus Fall-Off

Chrome : the Path Styler Pro way

Our quest for the perfect chrome never really went away. But we really came close here! You need to check out the WOW stuff you can do with Path Styler Pro -- the powerful styling plug-in for Photoshop makes stunning filter effects with a simple click or two... Check out this chrome

Digital Photo Fixes for Beginners

This series looks at several areas where beginners really need quick and easy solutions... here we cover exposure, levels, cropping, sizing, scaling, flash corrections for fall-off, and we'll show you a digital step wedge that saves a bunch of paper and ink ... Easy Photo Tricks

Blow up those JPGs

one of those frequent questions we get all the time is "How can we enlarge our JPG images, or shots downloaded from the web?" Sooner or later, if you have a digital camera and a computer, you're going to want to enlarge an image. This time we're challenged with enlargements over 1000 percent... but we solved the problems with a good dose of Genuine Fractals

Balancing the light in Night Scenes

While there are several dozen ways to adjust lighting, (from two to 300 minutes) if the scene is affected by a single overall condition, the solution could be more simple than you think. Here, we'll fix this photo spoiled by artificial outdoor lighting with a single-step lighting adjustment.

Add Drama to your Photos with Motion Blurs

Follow along as we add drama to two photos using Adobe Photoshop motion blur filters. We explore the directional motion blur and the radial motion blur as taught by expert Barry Huggins, author of the Photoshop Retouching Cookbook for Digital Photographers. Photoshop and the Motion Blur

Photoshop: Creating Mirror Reflections...

A frequent question is how to create the realistic mirror surface reflections of an isolated image -- as popularized by Web 2.0, and Apple iPhone marketing. This tutorial shows you the easy way, and the best way in Photoshop or Photoshop Elements to make Photoshop Mirror Reflections...

Clip from one... add to the other

What happens when you have two photos of two people and you need to join them into a single photo? Here, we illustrate a quick and easy way to bring another person into your photo, and make them look naturally at homne... clipping from one, and adding to the other!

Creating a Custom Drop Shadow

Photoshop's shadow layer effect does not always provide the correct shadow. The pros know you need to know how to produce realistic drop shadows by hand. Learn how to generate shadows for multiple surfaces, and projection distances by Creating your own Custom Drop Shadows

Creating Black & White from Color

another of those frequent questions from the Photoshop 911 emergency room gets answered by expert Barry Huggins, author of the Photoshop Retouching Cookbook for Digital Photographers. Through four different techniques, we learn a different set of skills is required when Creating Black & White from Color

Saving Photos: Dark, Under Exposed

Low lighting, camera movement, and other woes spoil the photo. Sometimes a photo just looks too dark to save. Sometimes it just can't be saved. But before trashing the photo, here are a number of exercises that show some easy tricks you can employ to save underexposed photos

Degrading Color for Hand Tint Look

A Photoshop 911 reader asks how a certain 'tinted' look was achieved in some sample photos... these are near grayscale with muted color. We knew we could accomplish the look by pulling an adjustment layer called the Gradient Map

Photoshop's "Match Color"

A Photoshop 911 reader asks how the "Match Color" function works to save two of his photos. Match Color uses the color map from one photo to change another -- and it works great -- sometimes. But when it doesn't, you have to look for other solutions. Matching Color

Painter: Photo to Woodcut

Painter is one of the premier natural medial programs, and ideal for converting that coveted vacation shot to a graphic work of art -- follow along as award-winning fine artist, designer and educator Cher Threinen-Pendarvis shows you how noted artist John Derry created his Pagoda Woodcut

One Photo to Many: Collage Mosaic

Several readers have asked about breaking apart a single photo so it looks like a collection of snap shots. There are actually a number of ways to do this from the quick and easy "SLICE" method, to the more difficult and time consuming "random" method - we think makes a much better looking Photo Collage Mosaic

Photographically Correct Film Simulator Effects for Photoshop

Alien Skin is back with an all new features list for Exposure 2 Film Stock Simulator! This new effects package plug-in features more than 300 presets for film simulation and a full range of photo lab and darkroom effects... Exposure 2 for Photoshop and compatibles

Photoshop To Painter & Back Again

Many Photoshop users think the word "Corel" is a thing of the past. However, those truly in the know will say Painter does it all. We do get a lot of questions about using the two together -- so we turned to the award-winning fine artist, designer and educator Cher Threinen-Pendarvis with her excellent tips for Using Photoshop with Painter

Photoshop Madness: Type & Lettering Tutorial Hell

It's a jungle out there... For this years Fall Fonts Festival we intended to send you some good tutorials on working with type in Photoshop. There are thousands of them, but unfortunately we began turning up some rather disturbing results for this month's Photoshop Madness

Photoshop's Photo Filter Adjustment Layer

This is one of the little known gems you'll find in Adobe's Photoshop and Photoshop Elements because it's a filter, but it's not in the filters menu. Use it when you want to change the color temperature of a photo... here's the value of Photoshop's Photo Filter Adjustment Layer

Photoshop 911: Spot Adjustments using a Mask

Someone asked how to make slight spot adjustments in just the dark areas of an image. Levels, or any other adjustment are easily fine-tuned by painting black and white into the mask area an Adjustment Layer Spot Adjustments using a Mask

Photoshop 911: Pop an image out of the border

A Photoshop 911 forum question was how to make a photo break out of the frame. Even though this has been around longer than Photoshop has, it can be daunting to a new user. But it's simple to Pop an image out of the border

Harrys Filters are back

... along with PhotoFreebies for Windows - Harry's Filters is a free Photoshop-compatible plugin containing dozens of useful image effects. The PhotoFreebies are a collection of 11 freeware plugins with various effects for digital photos. Harrys Filters

Photo Vector for Windows

Vectorizer and image cleaner: a proven handy tool for designers and CAD/CAM professionals to cleanup, reduce number of colors and vectorize images. AlgoLab Photo Vector for Windows

Learning: Separations for Screen Printing

One of the frequent questions we get is how to separate flat art for making silkscreen stencils. Rather than flood you with a lot of geek gibberish, we present the easiest, most direct method in Photoshop and Illustrator for making flat color separations for screen printing.

Major Event: Removing Backgrounds with Katrin Eismann

This is the ultimate tutorial for selecting fine images, delicate objects, wispy hair, and removing the background to replace it with a totally different image. This is the absolute best, anywhere when you have questions about Selecting hair and fine details in Photoshop

Photoshop Elements QuickFix & Color Corrections

You can dramatically improve the appearance of all your summer photos with just a click or two -- even if you have no idea of what you're doing. Let image specialist Barbara Brundage show you how in this 7-page chapter on QuickFix & Color Corrections using Photoshop Elements

Photoshop blending Photos to Sketches

Turn your summer photos into works of art by combining the Find Edges filter and the Overlay blending mode in Photoshop. Noted Photoshop guru John Beardsworth shows you how with these recipes for Blending Photos to Sketches

Photoshop Watercolor Filter

Sooner or later, you're going to have a photograph that suggests an artistic treatment. Photoshop expert Roger Pring joins us to give you some starter points on... Photoshop's Artistic Watercolor Filter

Photoshop: Carved in Wood

A reader wrote in with a client who wants his web site menu buttons to be on a tree -- looking hand-carved. So, this tutorial gives you nice sign boards with the type routed in to nail to the tree. Carved in Wood

Photoshop: Changing Colors

We get quite a few requests for this kind of technique for people colorizing houses, cars, people's clothing, and from time to time a boat or two. In this tutorial, we must change the color of a boat, then apply lettering to the side to show the client the finished lettering job.

Removing Backgrounds 2: Save Shadows

From Photoshop 911 Forums: "I want to replace white backgound with another color but to save shadows on image. With "replace color" is inposible to replace white. So here's what the 911 Dream Team sez: Load a little luminosity!

Layer Mask: merging photos

This is one of the most frequent questions we get in the Photoshop Forums and Photoshop 911. So here the Photoshop 911 dream team provides a fairly simple solution that will work in almost all versions of Photoshop and Photoshop Elements... Montage Making Masks

Setting a HEX color for GIF format graphics

Optimizing color fields for the Web can be daunting -- but when you need a specific range of HEX colors, it can be downright frustrating. Question was: "How can I change this HEX color in a gradient?"; Photoshop 911 sez: Put the HEX on a GIF

Photoshop question of the year: Removing Backgrounds

This is the most frequently asked question of them all: "How can I remove the white background around my logo?" We've talked about clipping paths and layer masks many, many times... just this once we wish everyone would listen and learn how to Remove the White Background from Graphics

Photoshop: Place a picture into text

A reader in the Photoshop 911 forum asks "how can i turn a picture of a dog into text" ... and since we all love dogs, we decided to demonstrate the easy way to use all versions of Photoshop and Photoshop Elements to Put an image into type

If you have Photoshop Problems

If you need assistance with the operation, tips, tricks, techniques etc., relating to Photoshopp or Photoshop Elements, then go directly to the EMERGENCY ROOM

Submit a Photoshop Web Site to the directory

If you have favorites, or would like to tell all our readers about a new Photoshop site, just add it to the Photoshop911 directory database. It will become active in the directory once a Photoshop911 volunteer has visited, and validated the link. Your link and reference will be used, when appropriate, in email correspondence with patients to get them quickly to the help they need.

Are you a Photoshop Guru?

Then you should want to REGISTER YOUR SERVICES with Photoshop 911 so you can be called upon when emergencies require a professional in the field who is available to take on new clients. Once you register you will be contacted for particulars. Please be patient, there's already a long list. Use this Registration Form

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